Kathleen Mansfield

Kathleen Mansfield Murry was a New Zealand writer and critic, widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the modernist movement. Her works are celebrated across the world, and have been published in 25 languages.

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Katherine Mansfield wrote short stories, poetry, letters, journals and reviews, and is regarded as a central figure in British modernism. Three story collections were published while she was alive and two posthumously. Much has been written about her work and her brief, tumultuous life.

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Mansfield became pregnant to one man, and married another. She miscarried, and her mother deleted her from her will. Her experiences informed the stories she wrote.

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Mansfield had tuberculosis. As her health deteriorated, she tried many treatments, and completed some significant stories.

In 1923 she suffered a fatal haemorrhage. She willed her manuscripts, notebooks and letters to her husband, who published many posthumously, and contributed to the growth of her international reputation.